July 14, 2012

I am very happy to report that we have managed to raise enough money to get Dillon his tiptop new iPad. Thank you all for being so supportive of this young boy.
I'll keep writing updates on Dillon but for now, please stop your donations.
Thanks so much
Sophie

July 12, 2012

Since my last post, I've had many
people asking me how they could help Dillon. What I came up with (for now) is
we should help him get his own iPad so he doesn't have to borrow the only one
they have at school. The iPad has been an unbelievably valuable tool for his
progress.

Since I’m fairly useless when it
comes to setting something up online, I’ve worked my tail off trying to set up this
PayPal Donations link. I have to say I’m very proud of my newfound programming
skills ;-).

It should be added that since I'm not
registered as a non-profit organization, your donations won't be tax deductible
this time around.

Everything will of course go 100% to
Dillon and his quest.

Everyone that donates will receive a
code, to get a free Kiddori app, in the App store. It’s my good friends app and
he is happy to contribute to our effort!

At some point I'll get sorted and set
up properly for nonprofit fundraising, so I will be able to help out kids that
need this kind of support...for now... this is all we got, and let's do some
good in this young boys life.

June 27, 2012

I know I joke around on here and on twitter quite a bit but for once I want to get something serious out to you.

Dillon is a real 12 year old boy who's mum got in touch with me. She told me his story and it broke my heart. I want to share it with you because I believe we can all do our part to help.
Dillon has a severe stutter and has had all his life. He gets teased and bullied in school. Even adults sometimes don't give him the time of day. At one point things seamed so hopeless for Dillon that he tried to take his own life.
When his 4 year old sister had to have an operation, the hospital were doing a fundraiser. Dillon wanted to help and while going around their neighborhood, three adults shut the door in his face before he even managed to get out what he wanted. One local doctor diagnosed him with mental retardation.
The school Dillon goes to has one iPad and they have lent that out to him so he is able to communicate better. Unfortunately there is one more kid at the school that stutters so now Dillon is trying to save up money to buy an iPad so they can each have one. With this iPad Dillon has managed to make honor roll! So much for mental retardation...

He is also a great little writer. Wrote the poems that you will see below.

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Dear Bully,
Beacause I wear glasses, you call me four eyes and think your friendship I should not seek.
Because I stutter, you think I should be quiet and not speak.
Because I am too fat, too short, too thin, too tall, you say harsh things and think I have no feelings at all.
Dear Bully,
Because you don't like the color of my skin, or the fact that I may be gay, degrading words are all you can say.
Because my clothes are not brand name, you laugh, don't you know in God's eyes we are all the same?
Dear Bully,
Because of you, at night I cry, I think I am worthless and deserve to die. Will I put the rope around my neck and hang or a gun to my head and end it with a bang?
You teased me, hit me, kicked me. Don't you know that to my mommy I was her heart and soul? Because of you, I am now six feet under in a hole.
Dear Bully,
Because of you, now I am dead, all because of those cruel words you said.
Forever my blood is on your hands. Because of your cruel words that cause harm, tonight, many mothers can not hold their children in their arms.

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Every day I wake up, bow my head to pray, Dear God, help this kid make it through another day. I grab my books, kiss my mom and get on the bus. I dread that ride like every kid that's bullied does. Walk through the doors of school, enter into a world so cruel.

Head held down, too afraid to make a sound. No friend to walk with, all alone, no buddy I can
call, Dear God, will you walk with me through my school hall.

At lunch I sit alone. Kids talk about their plans for the weekend, Dear God, what I wouldn't give for one true friend. Kids go by, call me names. In gym no one picks me for their partner in the games. On the playground, I get punched in the face. Dear God, how much can one kid really take?

Head held down, too afraid to make a sound. No friend to walk with, all alone, no buddy I can call. Dear God, will you walk with me through my school hall.

Will I ever date a girl or play football? Will I ever go to a school dance? You would see I"m not so bad if you give me half a chance. A kid that's not perfect is what they saw, every time I walk through that school hall.

Head held down, too afraid to make a sound. No friend to walk with, no buddy I can call, Dear God, will you walk with me through my school hall.

Force a smile on my face, walk into my house, into my mom's embrace. Tell her my day was okay, can't let her know how her big guy felt so small walking through my school hall.

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I was very lucky not to be teased growing up and hearing this story breaks my heart. That kids can be very cruel we all know. That's why we all worked so hard to fit in when we were growing up. We didn't want to stick out of the crowd. But how adults can be so cruel to a kid that is clearly struggling is beyond me.

Can we all just think twice before we totally dismiss another human being?

April 6, 2012

Long time no see.
I'm such a rookie doing blogs so every time I go on here (read; once every third month), I'm struggling to log in. Not because I have forgotten the password but because I just can't find where to log in.
There is another definition of donut for you.
I want to start by giving a big thank you for all the comments I have gotten on here. I'm sorry I haven't responded but most of the time, it's because I don't know how to.

I was up at Augusta this week to accept the Ben Hogan Award. Brought my brother over from Sweden. He watches golf on TV like there is no tomorrow so being able to walk the sacred grounds of Augusta National where like heaven to him.

To make a long story short.. the taped acceptance speech I did got such great response so I have decided to post if on here.

If you don't know what the Ben Hogan Award is, it's given out by the Golf Writers Association of America to someone who's remained active in golf despite physical handicap or a serious illness.
I'm very humbled to have been chosen for this and below is my video taped acceptance speech.

Well imagine that... I wasn't able to post it on here. I was however able to post it on youtube so here you go...
http://youtu.be/2mVwQPdoIxM